Category: Cacti

As you may have realised by now, not only do I love crochet and knitting, but I also love cacti and succulents.

So, I thought I would start to create some patterns to go with my cacti, as well as giving you a bit more information about the plants themselves. Whilst I was thinking about doing this recently an old customer got in touch with me completely out of the blue, to see if I had created any cactus patterns yet. What a pleasant surprise and coincidence.

She asked if I would create a pattern for an Opuntia. So, that was my plan, but then as I started to look around, I realised that there were so many knitted and crocheted cacti patterns already out there for free that it would perhaps be a better idea to just have a look at some of those instead and see if any were worthy.

First thing is first though.

I have to tell you a little bit about Opuntia. (Sorry it’s the cactus geek in me)

So, the cactus genus Opuntia contains many different species, with many different common names, such as the prickly pear, bunny tails, beaver tails and the barbary fig. You must have heard of some of them at least. It’s really widespread, originating throughout the Americas, but with man’s help has now been spread worldwide. In some places it is even considered to be a weed. They do grow exceptionally easily.

This is a cutting I planted in January this year. It was just a couple of paddle shaped leaves then, but started to sprout new segments straight away. (Sorry about the sideways picture). This is how much it has grown up to now (June).

It might not look like much to you, but it’s fast for a cactus.

Opuntia are easily recognised by their usually flat, paddle, oval or round shaped stem segments. The spines are often densely clustered on the areoles. These are the areas on the cacti where you usually see the spines coming from (the spotty bits on the pictures above) and trust me, you don’t want to touch them. They often look like soft, fluffy little pads, but really, they’re not that soft, they are composed of hundreds of tiny spines which will almost definitely get into your skin and they are really, really, really irritating! Some of them also have long, deadly looking spines in addition, as if they needed the extra protection!?

Like most cacti, they do have the redeeming feature of beautiful flowers and they come in an array of colours. Some of the species also have fleshy fruits, which can be harvested and turned into deserts, jellies, drinks and delicacies. (I think this is where the name prickly pear came from). In many places, especially Mexico, the flesh of the cactus itself is also eaten like a vegetable. I can’t say that I have ever tried it, but there’s a first time for everything…